Bara brith

October 8, 2016July 10, 2022 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

“Listen Zara, I don’t care what you say, I am not a bloody large” I panted angrily as I struggled to pull what can only be described as a worm coloured dress over my head. I don’t even like the colour ‘worm’ only Kim Kardashian can pull off ‘worm’ everyone knows that. Anyway, in an attempt to dodge the humongous queue I opted to try the dress on over my clothes on the shop floor, big mistake. So here I was, in the middle of Zara’s heaving Covent Garden store trapped inside the offending worm dress.
‘This can’t possibly be a large” I spat as my face turned an alarming shade of puce. I ducked down behind a rail of jackets and gave it another tug but just couldn’t get the damn thing over my boobs.
“Excuse me, can I get to the mirror?” I wildly spun around on my knees and looked up at Gigi Hadid. Okay so it wasn’t actually Gigi Hadid but it might as well have been, the skinny blonde thing had already pushed pass me and was now holding a top up to her delicate little chest admiring herself. At least she doesn’t have any boobs I thought to myself and grinned but then realised it was my ample bosoms that had got me into this mess in the first place. I gave the dress one final big pull and whipped it off over my head.
“YEEEESS!” I roared (a little too loudly) in the mirror at Gigi Hadid but Gigi had gone, in her place was a scary old Italian lady who stared back at me with disgust. Whatever.
I hung the now disheveled dress on a hanger and glanced at the capital ‘L’ on the label, since when was being a size 12 a large? Fuck you Zara and fuck your ugly worm dress I thought as I swept out of the shop.
When I got home I was still rather cross so decided to take my frustration out on a cake. Angrily beating eggs and creaming butter together can be very therapeutic after an upsetting shopping trip.
I decided to make Bara Brith, a kind of Welsh fruit loaf infused with tea. Traditionally you soak the dried fruit in the tea over night but I’m too greedy and too impatient for this so I created a quick version. Six hours and three Bara Brith’s later (one burnt, one sunk, one too dry) I finally got the recipe right. Serve with lashings of butter and a cup of tea, mwynhau!

Bara brith
Makes one loaf / Hands on time 25 mins / Takes 1 hour 30 mins + cooling / V ❄
You’ll need: 21cm x 12cm loaf tin
125g sultanas
300ml boiling water
2 black tea bags
2 tbs orange juice or milk
1 tbs honey
2 medium eggs
140g soft brown sugar
125g unsalted butter
1 tsp mixed spice
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ ground ginger
260g self raising flour
¼ tsp salt

Method
1. Preheat an oven to 170°C/150°C fan/300°F/gas mark 4 and grease a loaf tin with butter. In a large saucepan, add the sultanas, tea bags and 300ml of boiling water. Give it a stir to allow the tea to infuse and bring to the boil. Reduce and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile measure out the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and add 2 tbs of the tea liquid. Drain the sultanas, discard the rest of the liquid and the tea bags and add to the butter and sugar. Stir well until the butter has melted. Add the orange juice and the honey and mix well.
3. In a separate small bowl, beat the eggs with a fork before adding to the mixture. Stir until combined before putting to one side.
4. In a medium sized bowl, measure out the dry ingredients and mix together. Add to the wet mixture a bit at a time and stir until fully incorporated. Once combined, pour into the greased loaf tin.
5. Bake for 30 mins before carefully (and quickly), covering the cake LOOSELY with a large sheet of tin foil in the oven, by draping over the cake and securing it by crunching the sides (do this quickly to avoid the temperature dropping in the oven and to prevent the cake from colouring too much) – you want it to stay a nice golden colour. Bake for a further 25 mins before removing the foil and baking for an additional 10 mins uncovered. This gives the cake a lovely chewy crust.
6. Insert a skewer into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, your cake is cooked. If not, return to the oven uncovered for 5 mins before checking and repeating if necessary.
7. Once baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 mins before turning out onto a cooling rack. Cool fully before slicing and serving spread with salty butter.
8. Store in tin or airtight container lined with kitchen paper for up to 5 days.

TIP: If the cake seems a little dry, wrap in clingfilm whilst still warm (not hot).

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian
❄– Suitable for home freezing once cooled. Wrap in a few layers of clingfilm and freeze for up to 3 months.

Salty olive brunch eggs

August 30, 2016November 1, 2019 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

We eat a lot of olives in my house, by the end of the month our fridge is packed with a combination of half empty antipasti pots and jars. So instead of chuckin em all in the bin why not chop em up together and plonk em on toast? Lurvely… Not sure why I’ve started talking like Gregg Wallace but there you go. Oh and speak of the devil, listen Gregg Wallace, I like your smiley round ‘Vitalite‘ face and common chat but lay off Mary Berry. She is the queen of everything and you’re a stupid fat idiot. For those of you who may not know, ex green grocer and Master Chef judge Greg Wallace recently criticised Queen Mary for her views on deep fat fryers in the home. It was officially the lamest celebrity feud ever so pipe down Wallace and go and enjoy your buttery biscuit base somewhere else.
Anyway where was I? Oh yeah, Flea Bag… Now I know I wasn’t talking about Flea Bag but there isn’t much to say about this recipe apart from that I didn’t used to like olives blah blah blah but I really really REALLY want talk about Flea Bag! It is hands down the best TV series I’ve seen all year. Finally, a brilliantly dark, raw, but real and incredibly funny account of what it’s really like to be a single woman in London today. I laughed so much I dropped my cup of tea in the bath… Yes I watch TV in bath… Anyway, bravo Phoebe-Waller Bridge, I salute you and will you be my friend please? Thanks.

Salty olive brunch eggs
Serves 2 / Hands on 15 mins / Total time 15 mins / V Df
16 pitted black olives in brine, chopped
4 mini gherkins, chopped
6 green queen olives, chopped
1 garlic clove, whole but peeled
2 slices of sourdough
1 tomato, sliced
4 eggs
Black pepper

Method
1. Roughly chop the olives and the gherkins together and mix together on the chopping board. Slice the tomato and peel the garlic clove. Put to one side (avoid seasoning the tomatoes as it will make the dish air to salty).
2. Fill a small frying pan about three quarters of the way full and bring to a simmer. Crack an egg into a tea cup and slowly pour the egg into the simmering water (this prevents the egg white spreading too far in the pan). Repeat with the other 3 eggs and cook for 2-3 minutes.
4. Meanwhile toast the bread and rub the surface with a raw garlic clove. Top each slice with the olive mixture and slices of tomato.
5. Remove the poached eggs one at a time with a slotted spoon. Allow to drain for a seconds over the pan and place over the tomatoes. Season with a good crack of black pepper and serve.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian Df– Dairy free

Soft chipotle tacos

August 25, 2016January 21, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

One of the perks of being Heat’s Food Editor is that I occasionally get sent free stuff. I can receive anything from fish finger crown cakes (literally a crown made out of fish fingers but the fish fingers are actually cakes) to boxes of wine in the shape of Camper Vans. Recently however I haven’t been receiving lovely cakes and boxes of wine but giant crates of water (sigh). Thanks to stupid coconut water, I now get sent birch water, cactus water, aloe vera water, watermelon water and any other pretentious idiot water that’s coming out, all of which taste like bodily fluids. What’s wrong with regular tap water for god sake? I bet the queen drinks it!… Actually, she almost certainly doesn’t.
Anyway, in between all of my recent water deliveries I received a rather exciting delivery from my favourite restaurant, Wahacca. To celebrate ‘The Year Of The Taco’ they’ve just launched their first ever taco kits, WHAT TOOK THEM SO LONG?! Armed with a big bag of soft tacos, limes, chillies and a variety of salsa and marinades, I was as happy as a tick on a fat dog. We ate nothing but tacos for a week so you’ll be surprised to hear that the week after I decided to make MORE tacos. I literally had tacos coming out of my ears (not literally). Having eaten all of the Wahacca kits though and having about 20p in my purse, I thought I’d attempt to make my own version of Wahacca’s tomato and smoky chipotle tacos. This is what happened…

Soft chipotle tacos
Serves 6 / Hands on time 40 mins / Total time 50 minutes / V
Marinade
1 small white onion, chopped
3 gloves of garlic, crushed
Handful sun-dried tomatoes (I use the Merchant Gourmet)
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp smoked paprika
2 tbs vegetarian red wine
1 tsp chipotle paste (add too if you like it really hot)
Juice of a lime
1 tsp sugar
1 tbs tomato Puree
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp rapeseed oil
Filling
1 red pepper, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 orange pepper, sliced
1 can of sweet corn, drained
1 small red onion, sliced
300g frozen Quorn
Soft taco shells (3 per person)
Guacamole
2 avocados
½ a lime
2 garlic cloves crushed
Extra virgin olive oil
Garnish
Sour cream or cottage cheese
Fresh salsa (optional)
Jalapeños (optional)

Method
1. To make the marinade, roughly chop the onion and garlic and put in a large heavy bottomed pot with a tsp of sunflower oil on a medium heat. Cook for about 10 minutes until soft.
2. Add the chipotle paste, cumin, smoked paprika and give it a good mix. Cook for a further minute. Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, red wine, sun-dried tomatoes, juice of a lime and the sugar. Give it a good stir and cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes.
3. Once cooked, take off the heat and blend with a hand blender or blitz in a food processor. Return the marinade to the pot.
4. Roughly chop the red onion and all of the peppers and add them to the marinade. Add the quorn and the sweetcorn and give it all a good mix together. Add a 3rd of a mug of water, give it another stir and bring to the boil. Once boiling turn the heat down low and cook for 10 minutes with the lid on a jar.
5. After 10 minutes add another 3rd of a mug of water, give the mixture a stir and cover for a further 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile make the guacamole (or use shop bought). Scoop out 2 avocados into a bowl and squeeze over half a lime. Add the crushed garlic cloves, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Shmoosh it all with a folk and put to one side. Slice the other half of the lime into quarters and put to one side. Once your chipotle peppers are cooked take off the heat and pop the lid on.
7. Cook the soft tacos in a dry frying pan on a high heat for 10 seconds each side. If you’re making a big batch, stack the tacos, wrap them in foil and pop them in a preheated oven at 180°C/160°C fan/ 350°F/gas mark 4 for 5 minutes.
8. When the soft taco shells are warm you can actually mould them into traditional taco shape by bringing the two sides together and holding it there for around 30 seconds (I often stick mine in-betweens a few cans or jars but you don’t have to do this).
9. Fill each taco with a large spoonful of the chipotle peppers and top with guacamole, sour cream, fresh salsa and couple of jalapeños. Serve with a lime wedge. If you’re not feeding 6 people (as I rarely do) take the leftovers to work, they make an excellent lunch.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian

Caprese Panzanella

August 15, 2016November 1, 2019 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

I love a caprese salad but I’ve eaten some pretty shocking ones in my time. Such a simple dish but surpringly easy to get wrong but you won’t, if you follow these three simple rules.
1. Don’t be stingy with the mozzarella. At least half of the caprese salad’s I’ve ever eaten, have consisted of a plate of sliced tomato and hang on… Where’s the mozzarella? Oh there it is, a few pissy slithers in between giant beef tomato slices. Not cool.
2. Seasoning, seasoning SEASONING! Nothing worse than being given a dry caprese in a restaurant that you have to season yourself with table salt. Horror.
3. Don’t try and serve it in a scooped out avocado skin. USE A PLATE YOU SAVAGE! That is what plates are for and besides, an avocado skin is too small and you can’t eat it so why is it there?! Exactly, get rid of it and double the portion. Oh and on another note, when did the avocado get involved anyway?

So forget avocado’s, why have I added bread to my recipe? Well, I went to my local Nisa this morning to buy some regular sliced brown bread but they didnt’ have any! I mean none at all, what kind of shop doesn’t have sliced brown bread?! I couldn’t buy white Kingsmill, could I? I mean I could, but I’d devour the whole loaf in one sitting, white bread is like crack, fact. So I was forced to buy a fresh crusty brown loaf that wasn’t pre-sliced #middleclassproblems. So halfway through slicing giant door stoppers I got cross and just started ripping bits off and angrily stuffing them into my mouth. I’ll just make my salad into a panzanella I thought, that will get rid of the bits I can’t fit in the toaster. So that’s what I did. Enjoy!

Caprese Panzanella
Serves 2 / Hands on time 10 mins / Total time 10 mins / V
450g mixed tomatoes
100g stale bread/sourdough
2 balls vegetarian mozzarella
Handful of fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
Extra virgin olive oil

Method
1. Roughly chop the tomatoes, season well with salt and pepper and put in a large bowl.
2. Pull the basil leaves off the stalks, roughly chop and add to the tomatoes – discard the stalks. Roughly chop the bread into chunks and add to the bowl.
3. Give it all a good mix before draining the mozzarella and tearing into big bits. Season well with more salt and pepper, drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil and give it a final mix. Serve drizzled with yet more extra virgin olive oil and a good crack of black pepper.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian

Asparagus, pea & mint breakfast frittatas

July 4, 2016November 18, 2019 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

Oh dear, it just occurred to me that I’m going on holiday in two weeks and I’m a bit soft around the edges (in other words, I look like a big fat pig). So in a desperate bid to firm up my wobbly bits, I downloaded a 10K running app on my phone. It’s been going well so far but I have noticed more baked goods making their way to my mouth more than usual. Running very slowly for 20 minutes without being sick surely deserves a croissant right?… Right guys?
Okay well it has to stop because it’s clearly not working and I’m going to be in a bikini (shudder) in less than a month, so goodbye buttery baked goods, I love you. Insert crying face here. Speaking of crying faces, here’s a disturbing video of a fully grown man crying like a baby, you’ll love it, it’s horrible (click here).
So, to kick my terrible pastry addiction I’m swapping croissants for mini frittata muffin. You can put whatever vegetables you want in them so they’re very easy to put together. I opted for asparagus, mint, peas and a few other bits I found in my fridge but like I said, you can use any old veg you have lying around. Just remember to make the mixture 50% egg to 50% veg and you won’t go wrong.

Asparagus pea & mint breakfast frittatas
Makes 6 large / Hands on time 20 mins / Total time 45 minutes / V Gf
You’ll need: Large muffin tin
Spray rapeseed oil
2 handfuls frozen peas
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, cut into 6 slices
125g asparagus, woody ends removed
Handful fresh mint, chopped
Handful fresh parsley, chopped
40g vegetarian Italian hard cheese or Parmesan*, grated
8 medium eggs

TIP: If you don’t own a muffin tin don’t fret, you can use a cupcake tin and make mini frittatas, just bear in mind they may not take as long to cook.

Method
1. Preheat an oven to 200°C/180°fan/400°F/gas mark 6 and spray a large six case muffin tin with oil (I know I used muffin cases in my pictures but I wish I hadn’t, the paper got stuck to the frittatas).
2. In a large bowl whisk the eggs and add a generous pinch of salt and pepper.. Add the finely chopped spring onions, 2 handfuls of frozen peas, fresh mint, fresh parsley and most of the cheese (save a little to sprinkle on top of your frittatas later).
3. Remove the woody ends of the asparagus and discard before picking 6 of the finest looking spears. Trim these to roughly 2 inches and pop one in each of your muffin holes. Roughly chop the rest of the asparagus and add it to the egg mixture.
4. Slice the tomatoes until you have 6 pretty slices and put to one side. Spoon your mixture into your muffin tin evenly and top with a tomato slice, a sprinkle of cheese and a last season of salt and pepper. Bake in an oven for 25 minutes or until springy to the touch and the egg is cooked through.
5. Allow to cool in the tray for 5 minutes before carefully removing by scoring around the edges with a knife and lifting them out. Serve immediately warm or cool fully on a cooling rack. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge and keep for up to 3-4 days. Microwave them on high for 30 seconds if you’re having them for breakfast or enjoy them cold like a mini quiche.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian Gf – Gluten free

Mango mozzarella salad with chilli & lime dressing

June 27, 2016November 18, 2019 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

Well thanks a lot Britain, now I can’t go live in France and become the world’s most famous pastry chef… Not that I was ever gonna do that but now I know I can’t, I’m bitterly disappointed. In all seriousness though, I’m gutted we voted to leave the EU, going against Steven Hawking can never be a good idea.
Anyway, lets not dwell and talk about another upsetting subject, fruit in salad. Personally, I think fruit belongs in cakes, on top of granola or in a nice decorative bowl so get your apples and raisins out of my salad please thank you.
“So why is mango okay?” I hear you ask.
Well, I guess it isn’t but seeing as the world has just ended lets live dangerously.
This recipe was actually inspired by some canapés I created for heat magazine earlier in the year. Basil leaves speared on cocktail sticks and sandwiched between a mini mozzarella ball, a mango chunk and rolled in dried chilli flakes, et voila! Posh pineapple cheese on a stick. They were utterly yum and thus inspired this cheeky recipe. Enjoy!

Mango mozzarella salad with chilli & lime
Serves 2 / hand on time 20 mins / total time 20 mins / V Gf 🌶
Dressing
Juice of 1 lime
1 small garlic clove, crushed
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Salad
1 mango, skin removed and flesh chopped
½ small red chilli, deseeded
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2 balls vegetarian mozzarella
1 handful of fresh coriander, chopped
1 gem lettuce
Dried chilli flakes (optional garnish)

Method
1. Mix the dressing ingredients together and put to one side.
2. Chop the mango, spring onions, fresh coriander, chilli and mix them together in a large bowl along with the dressing.
3. Wash and chop your lettuce and add to the other ingredients and mix well. Distribute the salad evenly on two plates.
4. Drain your mozzarella balls, pull them apart and top each salad with one each. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with a few dried chilli flakes.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood

V– Vegetarian Gf– Gluten free. 🌶– Spicy

Baked Mediterranean feta

June 22, 2016January 26, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ 1 Comment

How did I end up on the last train home stuffing a cheese and onion pasty in my mouth? Oh… I appear to have missed my mouth altogether, found most of it my cleavage. Classy… Anyhoo, it was my 32nd birthday so if there was ever a time to get drunk and eat pasties this was it. But what has any of this got to do with baked feta I hear you ask? Absolutely nothing, just wanted to tell you it was my birthday. Let’s move on.
So baked feta, I’ve never made or eaten this before but apparently it’s a ‘thing’ in Greece and I have Greece on the brain. I’m just about to finish ‘My Map Of You‘ a book written by my very own housemate Isabelle Broom. I mean, I knew people wrote books, they must do but I’ve never met anyone who’s actually written one I can buy in a shop. I tried writing a book once, it was about a boy who worked in a revolting old pet shop. Pretty sure it would have been a best seller, if only I had written more than four pages. Oh well, que sera, sera’.
Anyway back to Isabelle, who successfully managed to transport me to Greece and back in a mere few pages (what a lovely cheap holiday for those of us that can’t afford to go away.) Move over Jojo Moyes, there’s a new romance novelist in town. Bravo Isabelle, I loved your book and I can’t wait to read all the other books you have locked away in your noggin. Oh and can I borrow a fiver please?
Right sorry, I keep getting sidetracked. This baked feta recipe is easy and insanely delicious. It’s a bit like eating a deconstructed pizza, you bake the topping and then scoop it up with the pitta. Do it, do it, do it!

Baked Mediterranean feta
Serves 2 / hands on time 10 mins / total time 30 mins / V Gf
You will need: Foil and a baking tray
200g vegetarian feta
1 red pepper, de-seeded and sliced
½ red onion, sliced
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tsp dried oregano
2 handful black olives, halved
1 regular tomato, roughly chopped
Extra virgin olive oil, to serve
Pita bread to serve (optional)

Method
1. Preheat an oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400F/gas mark 6
2. Slice the peppers along with the onions and chop the cherry tomatoes and olives in half. Roughly chop the regular tomato and season everything well with salt and pepper.
3. Smooth out 2 large pieces of foil and lay a bed of sliced peppers in the middle of each. Slice the feta in half and pop each slice on top of the peppers. Arrange the regular chopped tomato around the sides of each and top the feta with the onions and cherry tomatoes (it doesn’t mater if a few fall off, just leave them at the side).
4. Scatter over the olives and sprinkle with dried oregano. Season with salt and pepper before fold up the sides of each parcel and scrunching the top until sealed. Place both on a baking tray.
5. Bake in the oven for 20 mins. Once cooked, carefully remove from the oven and open the parcels up just enough to drain away any excess liquid before sliding onto plates. Serve with warm pita (optional) and a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V – Vegetarian. Gf – Gluten free – if you forgo the pita bread.

Me with my talented author housemate Isabelle. BUY HER BOOK!

Ramen eggs

June 13, 2016January 20, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

I recently watched a documentary called ‘Miso Hungry‘ which made me a bit obsessed with Japanese food. Fat comedian, Craig Anderson, swaps his junk food-laden diet, for nothing but traditional Japanese cooking for 12 weeks, in a bid to shed a few pounds. It’s no secret that the Japanese live the longest healthiest lives in the developed world, but is it as easy as swapping a burger for a bowl of natto? Of course it’s not – that’s why it’s so funny.

Anyway, not only is Japanese food slimming and healthy, it’s lovely and cold. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s been like a hundred degrees in London this week, which has turned my little Camden flat into a fully functioning oven. So when you live in an oven, turning the actual oven on is frankly suicide, especially when you look and feel like a fat manatee. I really should lay off the crumpets.
Anyway, ramen eggs are delicious, nutritious and definitely worth trying. They’re easy to make and are a great addition to any lunch box. I personally like to eat mine drunk after a night out.

Ramen eggs
Makes 4 / Hands on time 15 mins / Total time 15 mins + cooling and marinating V Df
You’ll need: Ice and a sandwich bag
4 eggs (fresh eggs are harder to peel once boiled, so I recommend using eggs that are a little older and need using up)
10 tbs of water
6 tbs of light soy sauce
4 tbs of mirin

TIP: Keep refrigerated on the liquid and consume within 1 week.

Method
1. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil and turn down to a simmer. Carefully immerse your eggs in the water and cook for 8 minutes. Whilst boiling, prepare a bowl of iced water.
2. Once boiled, remove the eggs carefully and place in the iced water and cool for a minimum of 30 mins (the longer you leave them, the easier they are to peel).
3. Meanwhile, put a small sandwich bag in a small bowl and fill the bag with the water, soy sauce and mirin. Put to one side.
4. Once the eggs have fully cooled, carefully peel them and pop them straight into the bag with the marinade. Make sure the eggs are well immersed in the liquid before twisting the bag and tying either in a knot or with an elastic band. Place the bag back in the bowl and leave in the fridge, preferably for 12 hours. Cut them in half and enjoy cold.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V – Vegetarian. Df – Dairy free

Jamie’s halloumi & chickpea stew

May 30, 2016March 3, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ 5 Comments

“I’ve cut my hand Corrie!” Jamie screamed down the phone.
“Oh no! On what?”
“I slipped and fell on some glass”
“Oh my god! Are you okay?”
“Yeah… But I don’t think I’ll be able to do any washing up for a while…”
“Well it better be a bloody big cut!”
And it was. In fact it was super gross, poor Jamie. I actually didn’t mind doing the washing up for a while but I did miss his cooking, so I thought it would be nice to make one of his recipes, boy was I wrong! Not because his recipes aren’t delicious, but because my mad boyfriend is the worst backseat chef ever.
“Oh, you chop onions like that? Interesting”… “Don’t crush the garlic chop it!”… “Why are you using the big ring on the cooker, use that one”… “Oh just let me stir it, you’re doing it wrong”… “How many tablespoons of yogurt did you put in?… Corrie?… Corrie?… Corrie…”
“I PUT TWO FUCKING TABLESPOONS OF YOGURT IN JAMIE! TWO! NOT ONE, TWO! ALRIGHT?!” I scream.
“… You were only supposed to put in one… I’ll leave you to it.”

Halloumi & chickpea stew
Serves 2 / Hands on time 35 mins / Total time 35 mins / V Gf
1 tsp olive oil
225g vegetarian halloumi, cut into chunks
1 red onion, finely chopped
20 cherry tomatoes, halved
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 red pepper, sliced
1 knob ginger, grated
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp chilli flakes
1 tbs tomato puree
250g passata
1 tsp brown sugar
1 can of chickpeas
4 handfuls of spinach
2 tbs of greek yogurt + extra for garnish
Large handful parsley, chopped
Bread to serve (optional)

Method
1. In a large pot over a medium heat, cook the onion, cherry tomatoes and roughly a quarter of the halloumi chunks in the oil for 15 mins, stirring occasionally – adding a dash of water if needed.
2. Mix in the chopped garlic, red pepper, fresh ginger, cumin, smoked paprika, chilli flakes and a dash of water to loosen the spices a bit. Cook for a further 5 mins.
3. Add the tomato puree, passata, sugar, chickpeas and the rest of the halloumi chunks. Give it a good stir and gently simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Mix in 2 handfuls of spinach. Once wilted, add the other 2 handfuls and stir in the yogurt. Finally, sprinkle over the chopped parsley and season with black pepper (halloumi is very salty so you don’t need to add extra salt). Serve immediately topped with yogurt and bread for dipping.

Jamie not trusting me to cook his recipe properly

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

Puff vegetable pizza

May 2, 2016January 22, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

“Oh hi there, can I order a medium stuffed crust Vegi Volcano with black olives and three extra garlic and herb dips please?”… In my dreams. I’m far too skint to spend £20 on a Domino’s pizza, so decided to make my own weird pizza out of some left over puff pastry. I call him ‘The Puff Pizza’ so stick that up your pipe and smoke it Dominos, lovely delicious Dominos…
Anyway, feeling frisky, I treated myself to a bit of goats cheese to jazz it up a bit but you can use any cheese you like. In fact, you can top your pizza with whatever you like, it’s all the fun of making your own pizza, without pissing about making your own dough. So spread that tomato puree, lob on those toppings, sprinkle with cheese and even crack an egg on top – it’s your pizza to do with as you please. It will make you feel very powerful, like Michelle Obama.

Puff vegetable pizza
Serves 2 / Hands on time 10-15 mins / Total time 40 mins / V
Left-over Puff pastry (roughly 180g)
100g butternut squash, peeled and cubed (or any other vegetables that need using up)
Small handful of kale
2 sprigs of rosemary
1 tsp tomato purée
125g vegetarian soft goats cheese or cheese of your choice
½ red onion, sliced
Spray rapeseed or olive oil

TIP: I created this recipe to use up left-overs, so feel free to use whatever vegetables or cheese that needs using up.

Method
1. 200°C/180°C fan/400F/gas mark 6. The shape of your pastry doesn’t really matter, just as long as you can fit it on a baking tray – mine was a really funny shape. Line a baking tray with baking paper and spray with a bit of oil.
2. As I had butternut squash to use up, I steamed it for 10 minutes first – only do this step if you have hardy root vegetables to put on your pizza. If using lighter vegetables there is no need to do this.
3. Score a knife roughly an inch around the edge of the pastry (this gives you an area for the crust to rise). Spread tomato puree in the centre and out to your scored line before assembling your toppings. Fill this area with your chosen vegetables and top with cheese and herbs.
4. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is nicely golden.
5. Serve hot or cold with some simply dressed leaves.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian